California Appeals Decision that Blocked its Anti-Game Law

The State of California has filed an appeal of the decision that struck down the state's proposed "Violent Video Game Law."

As can be seen in the press release on Leland Yee's site, the State of California hopes that higher courts will overturn the decision to strike down 2005's AB 1179 that would fine retailers who sell violent video games to minors. According to Yee's site, the brief begins:

It defies logic to suggest that our founding fathers intended to adopt a First Amendment that would guarantee children the right to purchase a video game wherein the player is rewarded for interactively causing the character to take out a shovel and bash the head of an image of a human being, appearing to beg for her life, until the head severs from the body and blood gushes from the neck. Or guarantee children the right to purchase a video game where the player can cause the character to wound an image of a human being with a rifle by shooting out a kneecap, pour gasoline on the wounded character, and then set the character on fire while the character appears to be alive and suffering.

Instead, the proper, more reasoned approach to First Amendment jurisprudence recognizes that the rights of minors are not coextensive with those of adults. States must be allowed to legislate to protect the health and welfare of children with certain universally recognized differences between adults and children in mind.

While it's easy to understand the motivations of those behind the appeal, they are unlikely to succeed. There is a lot of precedent supporting the unconstitutionality of the law, and neither Yee nor California are in a position to redefine the scope of the First Amendment.